In a newly-published feature, titled “Why Are Rap Lyrics Being Used As Evidence In Court,” Noisey.com addresses the increased use of rap lyrics as evidence in court. The publication cites court cases dating back to the early 90s and also features commentary from those in the Hip Hop community.
According to Erik Nielson, a rap scholar at the University of Richmond, the use of lyrics as evidence has become “widespread.”
“It is pervasive, it is widespread,” Nielson said while speaking with Noisey. “Lyrics are being used all throughout the criminal justice process. They’re being used in indictment hearings, they’re being used in actual trials, they’re being used in sentencing hearings. We know that they’re being used in less formal ways, for example to compel a plea bargain.”
Atlanta, Georgia rapper Killer Mike is also featured in Noisey’s story. The Run The Jewels lyricist addressed the prejudice surrounding Hip Hop.
“The prejudice is there; hip-hop is just being used as a way to apply the prejudice. It is hip-hop today, it was jazz 80 years ago, it was rock and roll when Little Richard was around,” Killer Mike said. “The most dangerous thing is not the active participation in a racist system—by the judges or the prosecutors or the police, who are the front lines of making sure these policies are in place—but the very real and very scary thing is the apathy by the general American public that is the same racial makeup of the leaders of these groups.”
Among the court cases mentioned in the feature story was one involving an aspiring rapper by the name of Vonte Skinner who was charged with attempted murder. Noisey reports that during his trial, which took place in 2008, New Jersey state prosecutors read 13 pages of lyrics written by Skinner.
Skinner was convicted of attempted murder during a second trial, but appealed that decision. His appeal resulted in a retrial due to the use of his lyrics as evidence.
Also mentioned in Noisey’s feature is Uncle Murda affiliate, Ronald “Ra Diggs” Herron. A judge in his court case allowed his music and rap videos to be used as evidence.
“Without passing judgment on the truth of these statements or depictions, the court finds the content of the rap-related videos to be generally relevant in this case where the Government must prove the existence and structure of an alleged criminal enterprise and a pattern of criminal activity committed in furtherance of that enterprise,” Judge Nicholas Garaufis said in regards to the use of Ra Diggs’ music as evidence in his case.
Noisey’s full “Why Are Rap Lyrics Being Used As Evidence In Court” story can be found at Noisey.com.
RELATED: Rapper Twain Gotti Arrested For Murder Due To Incriminating Lyrics
Rap snitches, telling all their business
Sit in the court and be their own star witness
Do you see the perpetrator? – Yeah, I’m right here
Fuck around, get the whole label sent up for years
Anonymous….ya should of left ya real name…..them lyrics fire sonnnnnn…..i woulda signed ya
#badboy
it’s MF DOOM…
Mr Fantastik
Its some dumb listeners.They expect rappers to tell the truth in their lyrics. Listeners forget that hip hop is entertainment(its not a biography).its like a movie that u listen to.I love hardcore hip hop.But I don’t want to listen to no dumb ass nigga that’s done crime,got away with it.Then puts it word for word in a rap.Do listeners really think all rappers are that stupid.Obviously bits and pieces might be truth.its up to the listener to figure out what they choose to believe.when some rappers are talking that tough talk most times they mean that they’ve done it before or that their willing to do it if they get disrespected in a certain way.And Just because they’ve never caught a case for such crime.doesn’t mean they’ve never done it before.it just means they’ve never been caught for it before.Unless u roll with a person 24/7 u won’t know what they’ve done in their lives.The same way they won’t know what U’ve done.Some people don’t know how to listen to music.IT’S ENTERTAINMENT!!!!…(rappers from the suburbs spitting that G’d up shit is definitely not believable)
you must be a rick ross fan
[Xzibit]…why’all niggaz is killin me
You got Bloods and Crips in New York City, is anybody feelin me?
I ain’t concerned with who gon’ shoot who
I’m only concerned with music, and who break through
FUCK YOU, for thinkin platinum is the ultimate goal
These faggot niggaz gettin they money, but losin they soul
I don’t want to hear shit from you niggaz with no background
No backbones, you get no chance to back down
Deal how we deal witcha, peons, no chips
Changin whips out so they can look richer
I see the big picture, startin in the kitchen
with bricks and Pyrex pots, the widescreen edition
Listen, I seen niggaz hit with so much time loc
They have to die and come back three times to see them white folks
Take notes, cause you will be tested
Vested up, drunk as fuck, large caliber weapons
I feel you.. rap niggaz, fuckin it up
Monkey-mouthed muh’fuckers, spoilin the cut
For real niggaz in the street, really hustlin weight
See they networks and blueprints on hip-hop tapes
Johnny Law catchin on, soakin up the game
How you think they find the stash spots and follow the slang? STUPID……(Xzibit..”what a mess”)
I mean come on, rappers have to watch what they say, are we not surprised? They are going to use any and everything against you in court.
That’s why real smart gangsters use fictional stories.Cos its ENTERTAINMENT!!!.They “probably” only sold dime bags,but in their raps those dime bags are exaggerated and turned into kilo’s. It doesn’t matter cos its ENTERTAINMENT!..if the musics dope its dope. Only teens and pre teens believe what rappers say “word for word” anyway. Obviously there’s going to be the “odd” truth thrown in. But unless we know the rappers “personally” we’ll “never” know What’s real.So its best to just listen as entertainment!
It’s about how you carry yourself though man. Nobody ever thought the stories Slick Rick told were real, because he had a sense of humor and imagination. Nobody thinks Biggie, or Kool G. Rap, or Raekwon crime stories literally happened, because they’re told in a cinematic, narrative way. But these new school niggas really try to convince you that they literally do what they talk about in their raps. It’s ridiculous. That’s like the Undertaker trying to convince people in the streets that he’s really from the grave or some shit. There’s a certain glorification of it now, where it’s not a story with a moral or a cinematic picture being painted, now it’s “Hey, I REALLY did this, I REALLY shoot niggas, and sell crack, and will murder your son if you fuck with me”. Honestly, is these rappers are really as menacing as they say they are, then they SHOULD be in prison. Rappers are so scared to just say “Hey, sometimes I tell stories that are fictional, and some times I say shit just because it’s a dope rhyme, not everything I say is my real life”. They’d have much more fun at their shows not having to live up to some super-thug/killer/playboy/hustler persona. Ironically, their super-killer image ends up killing them. Peace.
shout outs to Officer William Roberts the new MC Gusto
Not “all” of kool g raps gangster raps were done in a cinematic way tho.or biggies.people have to understand that when rappers go in the booth they go into character. I’ve heard some of nwa’s gangster tracks. They definitely wasn’t cinematic lol sometimes people want to hear some hard gangster rap.When its done skillfully by a dope spitter i definitely bump it. Rather than a unskilled wack rapper just saying tough talk for the sake of it,without any mic skills whatsoever.But u have to remember the average street dude that was raised tough in the hood would do most of the things that rappers rap about anyway.Especially if they get put in certain situations where they have no choice. And most rappers are from the hood. So their qualified to talk that tough talk. Cos even if they didn’t do all the things they rap about,u can “guarantee’ they might know a few people in the hood that did.So its not like they wasn’t around it.so they don’t need to explain. People shouldn’t expect people that they don’t know to tell them the absolute truth.Even ur girl or friend might lie to u sometimes. And those are people that u actually know lol if music sounds dope I just take it for what it is. Music that sounds dope.I don’t question it.